High school students from schools across the commonwealth
learned about the state judiciary and the appellate process during
Student Government Day at the Supreme Judicial Court on April
1.
The students began their day participating in activities at the
State House and learning about the state's Executive, Judicial and
Legislative branches. Appeals Court Justice Mark V. Green addressed
the students on behalf of the Judiciary. Lieutenant Governor Karyn
Polito greeted the students and spoke on behalf of the Executive
Branch. President of the Senate, Stanley Rosenberg, and Speaker of
the House of Representatives Robert A. DeLeo spoke on behalf of the
Legislative branch.
The students then went to the John Adams Courthouse, where
Supreme Judicial Court Justice Margot Botsford spoke to the
students about her role as a judge and the role of the appellate
courts within the judiciary. The two clerks of the Supreme Judicial
Court, Eric Wetzel, first assistant clerk for the county of
Suffolk, who spoke on behalf of Clerk Maura S. Doyle, and Francis
V. Kenneally, clerk for the commonwealth, educated the students
about their roles as clerks and the history and founding of the
Supreme Judicial Court. SJC law clerks also engaged the students in
a discussion of their roles during a pizza lunch.
Established in 1947, Student Government Day is sponsored by the
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to
encourage students to learn about the role and function of the
three branches of government through observation and active
participation.